How Important Are Card Counting Playing Deviations?

Hey, can you tell what the name is of the simulator you are always talking about? Thank you :-)

Doesn’t a bigger bet spread attract unwanted attention from the casino?

I’m assuming the deviations help you win more on the negative hands that’s why they effect you more with a smaller bet spread due to the winnings on the positive hands being less impactful with a small bet spread.

Hi Colin, I have a question. After split Aces, dealer will deal last card for each hand. If they allow re-split Aces and dealt an Ace again, what will they do? The dealer will waiting player's decision: stand or split, right? I heard another rule said double down after split Aces. Do you have this kind of video? Thanks!

Thank you for this! I grew up on cards and was playing solid gin, poker, and pinochle before I was 7, and competitive bridge before my 10th birthday (parents are both gold life masters and teach the game at a community college). I played poker for years profitably playing 3-5 times a week but was frustrated by the "luck element " in a no limit game a couple of bad breaks could deplete a bank roll. After losing 25k in 6 hands at the Bellagio where I was the favorite when the $ went in (one was slight, and i made the right play but hated risking 11k when I figured I was only slightly ahead) I started playing blackjack and taught myself how to count and the running count. I was making some $ but quickly realized that the changing odds with the count meant variations from basic strategy were necessary. I tested some and started to employ them, but I didnt have half of what your site has! Awesome site. Great job. New to your channel and I'm watching everything

If the count is 30, and you have a 13 and the dealer has a 10... do u hit? Or stand? Since the count is so high, your odds are tremendous of busting. Surrender?

Let’s see how accurate my eye is... 3 decks have been delt, there are 3 decks remaining in a 6 deck shoot.

So, deviations are when you don’t follow basic strategy?

Where is the list of deviations?

Risk of ruin is kind of a off way of putting the answer. Shouldn't you also calculate for what are the odds of just losing any amount of money after X hours? That would change some people's ideas for whether or not to play.

Is risk of ruin the chance of losing everything?

The advantage is twofold - the obvious is that is increases your EV given the same bet spread. But because of the fact that your risk of ruin is lower, you can further increase your EV by betting bigger while retaining the same risk as if you hadn't used deviations.

What is N-Zero ? Thanks

Hey Colin. What are your thoughts on 8,8 vs 10 at a true +5 or higher. (Max bet out) Double after split allowed, No Surrender, Dealer stands on soft 17. Should you split like basic strategy or stand? ♠️

What's N-zero?

just wanted to say that youre a cool guy for sharing your knowledge if it wernt for you we wouldn't have a easily accessible comprehensible card black jack guide. at all. i really mean it its really cool and your content it top tier you never miss the point. have a great day colin!

I played a LOT of Blackjack when AC first opened w Resorts, Chasers, etc. I was really waiting for my friend to be done entertaining. I found one thing VERY quickly. I was a very attractive woman in my early to mid 30's. A lot of attention cos they thought I was "hooking". Then I met a guy who ran a cable gambling show. Then I read some things. Basic strategy down perfectly in a month or two. Also, I started noticing some men who MOSTLY played perfect basic strategy except on occasion, these same men would split xx's occasionally or double down when it went against BS. OK. They aren't morons, I decided. They knew more than just BS. When they deviated, they had more info that I wanted. So, what stopped me from building my game?. Unfortunately, I had a less than perfect memory and combine that with a lot of men hitting on me and distracting me, my career was over in less than a year. Almost 30 years later, I wouldn't have those issues. No more valium, ( the memory issue) no longer young and gorgeous ( the male distractions). Oh well. Too bad I hadn't these tips back then .

For PD, when the count is >5, I always stay at anything larger than 15. But no matter what I will hit my 12. I also will hit 12-16 with dealers 9 or 10.

Ha! I wrote my own simulation to test my own strategy years ago. Should come back on it! It can not simulate deviations and counters yet...

I quite like how the simulations you do are consistent with the pareto principle or the 80/20 rule.

I'm a little slow in thought could Use a lot more help
Don't want to get rich
Just get a little more

What is N-zero exactly?

Diminishing Marginal Utility

I learned 50 deviations this morning. I'm not old enough to play at a casino yet

Why do you use different deviations than the illustrious 18? What are your top 20 deviations?

You look MUCH better shaven. Wow!

I haven’t played BJ in probably 3-5 years and have no plans to become a card counter, yet i’ve watched over 25 of your videos and am a huge fan of all of them, so well done and great to see straight mathematics and no bull shit, awesome job on all these, you’re the man and the delivery is real solid.

Would you recommend progressive betting if we knew the count was in our favor?

Anybody in Houston wants to play ?

Collin, what is the math behind hitting a soft 18 at a 9 or higher? This is just a combo that either always makes me over think it or just seriously question it

You think that’s cool, try splitting 5s

This is an amazing consolidation of vital information. What's not to like. 22% increase in EV using top 20 deviations, on team's earnings of $4,000,000 = roughly $1,000,000. The next 20 deviations, though far less bang for the buck, still yield an impressive (by Colin's own logic!) gain of 4.3%. That's $172,000 on 4,000,000 in earnings. On Colin's individual earnings of over $600,000, it's $25,000. With the foundation of Basic Strategy in place and some practice under the belt, how long would it really take to learn those next 20 deviations? A weekend? A week at most at a few hours per day? That's about how long it took me to learn the first 20. And this is not just being able to recite them, but apply them fluently. Do the math: $25,000 over a brief albeit very successful card-counting career, for 20 hours of work up front. $1000/hr! Higher than any EV I've ever seen.

$45hr?Just get a job instead.

Deviations? You can either count or not

I feel like never splitting 2 10s until a certain point is kinda like a dead giveaway you're an advantaged player if they know what the strategies are.

Deviations are the hardest thing for me right now. I'm in BJA and when going thru the test out, I'm at 96-98% because I only know about 8 Deviations.

I wonder what you do with a hard 8 against a 4, I just wanna know! That is me dog.

Can someone explain whats an N-zero?

What is the recommendation for Europe? Where usually 5 decks are played by a counting machine!

"1-12 Bet spread!" Does that me the player is playing 2 positions. Low position he bets $25 and high position he bets $300? Whatever you bet in the low position multiply that by 12 for your high bet?

40hs a week at $38ph. it would take 11 weeks to earn approx $17k. As a long term professional black jack player, this about right? Should an aspiring professional player look at this as a long run plan?

I just started online a few weeks ago, just got your app a few days ago! I can count and do basic strategy perfectly, now it’s time to learn the deviations! I might have to go to a casino for the first time! And I’m 40yrs old, hahahaha

Yes, playing deviations will generate more EV for you. But those same playing deviations will get you kicked out of the casino pretty soon too, especially if you split 10s with big bet on or buy insurance of $112.5 for your $225 bet. It's a sure tell for card counting.

Showing only positive sides of deviations and ignoring the negative side is not good blackjack journalism, Colin.

any recommendations for a system besides hilo that doesnt require constantly crossing over zero? recently found out my brain was injured in surgery triggering a bleed next to my brain... and tjat crossover is something im struggling to train out as i reteach myaelf a lot. my math took a hit as well. dunno whats coming back but if i can avoid that part then i can compensate. slowing down and taking time to wong it is probably gonna be the norm. whos gomna suspevt that guy tho.. not even accusing me of bein lucky. and explains any bankroll questions bein disabled with lawsuits goin through the works.

Idk understand what i should do, on the table of deviation there is for example, ten and ten against 4 of the bank, and the table says "4+", what should i do? I think when the deck is at 4+ i should do something, but whatt? Double? Split? I mean i can do a different played and dont follow the basic strategy?

I hope this channel lives on for many years to come. I am learning a lot and slowly beeding up my game. Its really fascinating how a relatively simple game like blackjack can be super easy to learn yet incredibly complex to master.

Such a useful video and answered exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

Thank you, sincerely, for all your videos.